Originally posted by Tony Belding
If you want something farther out in terms of digital camera technology. . . A reasonably priced, reasonable performing, large-format sensor would be a real game-changer. A 4X5 inch slab of silicon just isn't going to work. I'm thinking of something more like a 4X5 plate of ground glass with an array of mini-cameras behind it, each focused on a section of the glass, and firmware to automagically stitch the images together.
That stitching idea is cool, but you only need multiple small sensors, not full cameras.
BTW: If you want view-camera digital, Plaubel made (still makes I think) a compact rail-and-bellows studio camera with ultra-precision movements of front and rear. It takes Hasselblad digital backs and special "digitally optimized" lenses made by Schneider. The camera body plus lowest mp Hasselblad back and cheapest Schneider lens would set you back about $50,000. Get one for your kids to learn the basics of photography.